Black & Veatch's Tarakhil Power Plant: White Elephant in Kabulby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch November 19th, 2009In a secluded valley a few miles from Kabul's international airport, $285 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars have flowed into a Black & Veatch-built power plant outside Tarakhil village. But, far from the public relations coup the project was intended to supply, the plant has run into problems with planning, cost over-runs and alleged corruption.

Uranium Corporation of India Limited: Wasting Away Tribal Landsby Moushumi Basu, Special to CorpWatch October 7th, 2009In Eastern India's Jharkand State, tensions are mounting between Indigenous tribal communities and the Uranium Corporation of India Limited, or UCIL. Heavy security at a May public hearing in Jadugoda prevented many local activists and villagers from entering. But outside the hearing, activists from the Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation (JOAR) argued their case for protecting their health and the environment from horrific impacts of radioactive contaminated waste resulting from uranium mining.

Mission Essential, Translators Expendableby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch August 11th, 2009Ohio-based Mission Essential Personnel supplies over 2,000
translators to the Pentagon in Afghanistan, who play a critical role in protecting local and military lives. These interpreters are a key communications link. But if they are wounded or killed, they are often left to fend for themselves. This special features video of CorpWatch interviews with three Afghan whistleblowers, recorded in country in April. Click through to hear their story.

Damming Magdalena: Emgesa Threatens Colombian Communitiesby Jonathan Luna, Special to CorpWatch July 21st, 2009Near the town of La Jagua, overlooking the Magdalena River, the landscape is dotted with concrete markers declaring the land, river, and everything else a “public utility” that Colombia has given to the energy company Emgesa as part of the Quimbo Hydroelectric Project. A construction permit was granted in May, with the dam scheduled for full operation by 2014.

The True Cost of Chevron: An Alternative Annual Reportby Antonia Juhasz, http://www.TrueCostofChevron.com/May 26th, 2009Chevron's 2008 annual report is a glossy celebration of the company's most profitable year in its history. What Chevron's annual report does not tell its shareholders is the true cost paid for those financial returns, or the global movement gaining voice and strength against the company's abuses. This jointly-produced report documents negative impacts of Chevron's operations around the globe, in stark contrast to the message sent by the company's ubiquitous "Human Energy" advertising campaign.

Goa Cursed By Its Mineral Wealthby Emily Bild, Special to CorpWatchApril 23rd, 2009Set on India's west coast, Goa is renowned as a beach paradise popular with Indian and foreign tourists alike. Just a few miles inland from the quaint restaurants and the pristine waves lapping the silver shores of India's smallest state, iron-ore mining is destroying the environment, say activists and locals.

GEO Group, Inc.: Despite a Crashing Economy, Private Prison Firm Turns a Handsome Profitby Erin Rosa, Special to CorpWatch March 1st, 2009While the nation’s economy flounders, business is booming for The GEO Group Inc., a private prison firm paid millions by the U.S. government. Behind the financial success and expansion of the for-profit security company, there are increasing charges of negligence, civil rights violations, abuse and even death.

Inheriting Halliburton's Army: What Will Obama Do With KBR?by Pratap Chatterjee, TomDispatch.comFebruary 22nd, 2009President Obama will almost certainly touch down in Baghdad and Kabul in Air Force One sometime in the coming year to meet his counterparts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he will just as certainly pay a visit to a U.S. military base or two. Should he stay to eat with the troops, he will no less certainly choose from a menu prepared by migrant Asian workers under contract to Houston-based KBR, the former subsidiary of Halliburton.

Xstrata Dreaming: The Struggle of Aboriginal Australians against a Swiss Mining Giantby Michael Deibert, Special to CorpWatch February 16th, 2009The McArthur River winds through Australia’s remote Northern Territory, home to four main Aboriginal linguistic groups: the Gurdanji, Yanyuwa, Garawa and Mara. Earlier this month Australian Minister for Environment Peter Garrett announced conditional approval for a bid by Swiss mining giant Xstrata to expand its zinc mining operations in the sacred McArthur River floodplain.

One Million Weapons to Iraq; Many Go Missingby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch September 22nd, 2008An Alabama company controlled by a billionaire Kuwaiti family is the biggest supplier of guns to Iraq. These weapons were paid for by the Pentagon which has lost track of them. A new Amnesty international report says that such unrestrained global arms trading schemes may have catastrophic human rights consequences.

Toyota: Auto Industry Race to the Bottomby Barbara Briggs, Special to CorpWatch September 16th, 2008Globally, Toyota is known for its innovation and quality of products like the Prius hybrid. A closer look at operations in Japan, the Philippines, Myanmar and the U.S. reveals a story of extreme working conditions, union-busting and other corporate abuses. In Japan and elsewhere, workers are speaking out.

Dark Side of the Tourist Boom: Cruise Ship Controversies Cross Borders by Kent Paterson, Special to CorpWatch July 9th, 2008The Mexican Pacific resort of Zihuatanejo recently cancelled a major new cruise ship terminal, giving a victory to environmental activists and other opponents. However, Mexico remains the world’s Number One cruise ship destination; and with little regulation, allegations of onboard crime, and increasing militarization as regards security while ships are in port, the rapidly expanding industry is facing new challenges.

Crossing the Wayúu: Pipeline Divides Indigenous Lands in South America by Jonathan Luna , Special to CorpWatch June 5th, 2008Touted as the first step in a major regional integration project, the 225-kilometer TransCaribe pipeline travels underground across Colombia's Guajira Peninsula to the gas refineries of Maracaibo, Venezuela. Protesting the mega project's impacts on the peninsula's indigenous communities, the Wayúu community of Mashiis-Manaa is leading the struggle against oil giant Petróleos de Venezuela.

Suing the Smelter: Oklahoma Town Takes on Freeportby Eliza Strickland, Special to CorpWatch May 15th, 2008Residents of the town of Blackwell, Oklahoma have brought a class action lawsuit against mining giant Freeport McMoRan. The plaintiffs say that the company's zinc smelter, which closed in 1974, left a toxic legacy in the town, including contaminated sand from the smelter that was given away for free.

Booming Chinese Demand Has Ripples Down Under In Queenslandby Patrick O'Keeffe, Special to CorpWatch April 16th, 2008A bauxite mine and a proposed refinery in northern Queensland, Australia, to be developed by a Chinese mineral company, has divided local and traditional landowners. Part of a major industrialization scheme, it has also sparked worries among environmentalists.

Smokestack Injustice? Toxic Texas Smelter May Reopenby Kent Paterson, Special to CorpWatch April 2nd, 2008The old American Smelting and Refining Company (Asarco) copper smelter in El Paso, Texas, which has spewed out toxins for over a century, has been granted a new five-year permit. This is despite the fact that it violates international laws by polluting communities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Ecuador's Yasuni Park: Oil Exploration or Nature Protection?by Agneta Enström, Special to CorpWatch March 20th, 2008Permission for Petrobras of Brazil to drill for oil in Yasuni National Park, one of the most biologically diverse places in the world, has been suspended, but some damage has already been done by Swedish construction giant Skanska. Unless new money is found to protect the forest, exploration may resume.

Playing with Children's Lives: Big Tobacco in Malawiby Pilirani Semu-Banda, Special to CorpWatch February 25th, 2008Cigarettes may be damaging not only your own health, but also that of some of the world's poorest children. Much of Malawi's thriving tobacco industry rests on the backs of exploited children, some as young as five years old.

Burying Indonesia’s Millions: The Legacy of Suharto
by Andreas Harsono, Special to CorpWatch February 15th, 2008Over the last 50 years, a network of cronies helped former Indonesian president Suharto build a business empire and amass a multi-billion dollar fortune. Today his successors face an uphill battle to recover the money even after his death.